Blown Away: The Palace of the Republic was an act of expiation, an apology from one building to another. Given the Humboldt Forum’s stated desire to serve as a site for debate on controversial subjects, it was not surprising that the Berlin museum (which opened in 2020) would commission an exhibition to reflect on the previous occupant of its site: East Germany’s Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic), which opened in 1976 and was demolished in 2006. While it housed East Germany’s parliament, the Palast der Republik also contained an impressive array of public spaces, including a Great Hall that seated up to five thousand, thirteen cafes and restaurants, and a bowling alley. The Palast der Republik itself had replaced Berlin’s royal palace, which had stood from the fifteenth century until 1950, when its war-damaged ruins were demolished on the order of East Germany’s ruling SED party. Following German...

You do not currently have access to this content.